Taking Care of Myself

I've always been a strong person. I've been an athlete, and emotional support person to everyone around me, and have often surprise people with my endurance for difficult situations. In this strength I have taken the role of caregiver more often than anything else. I find so much satisfaction and supporting and healing people. However, in 2021 I was working at a memory Care facility. It was there that I finally met my limits. I've been picking up all the extra shifts that needed to be done, trying to do my administrative and floor work, and trying to support my team members all at the same time. I hadn't taken a day off in weeks and hadn't been sleeping well because of the stress. Then one day as I was doing my job, I got like headed felt my heart pounding and I fell to the floor. I had had a hypertensive crisis and my body was telling me it wasn't going to do this anymore. It's been hard to accept that I have physical limits, especially when there are people who need me. But I'm now taking more time for myself, focusing on sleeping better, and my blood pressure is coming back to a place of health and safety.